Coal-loading machine



. F. JOY

COAL LOADiNG MACHINE. APPLICATION man MAR. 27. I918.

RENEWED NOV. 7, I921,

Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1 41 JQ v Patented Apr. 4, 1922 COAL LOADING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED Mm. 27. 1918. RENEWED NOV. 7,1.921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- I T a a a J. F. JOY.

COAL LOADING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 27, 191B. RENEWED NOV- 7,1921.

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Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

J. F: JOY.

COAL LOADING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 27. 1918. RENEWED NOV. 7,1921.

1,41 1,702. Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

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nnrrnn JQSEI'PHI F. JOY. U13 PITTSBURGH. PENIKSYLVANKA. ASSILHQ'QR 'filli'fl? MAG HENE COM- PANY, 0F FITI'SBETMH, EENHSZLVANIA. A CUR'BGhZATION' (3F DELAWARE.

CUAL-LQADENG HAUHW.

Be it known that l, Josnrn l .loY. u citizon of the United States of America. residing iit Pittsburgh in thc county of Allc gheny and State of Pennsylvanian have "invon'tedcertain new and useful improvements in Foul-Loading lll'nchinos. of which tho following is n specification.

This invention relatcs to certain new and useful improvements in cool loading! machines and has among its objects the proiision of a horizontally swingnble single conveyor which is so mounted that, the discharge end thereof will at all times remain over the car being loaded when the free end of the conveyor is swung across the place in which the machine is working.

llicretoforc. the most widely used cool loading machines hnre boon equipped with a second or toil conveyor which was mode necessary in ordor to insure n. discharge or coal into a car when the loading head wus swung to cither side of the machine and n machine of the present type has the advnntage of being lighter and cheaper than such widely used machines by reason of the elimination of the.tnil conveyor.

I have found, in practice. that ihe coal production may be incl-nosed from 30'); to 507 if a means is provided for the storage or coal whereby tho gathering thereof may continue while & loaded car is being replaced by an empty one, and it is a further object of the present inrention to provide a storage bowl to receive the gathered cool whcrsby the gathering (niorntion may ho pcrniittcd to continueduring. the period in which n lon-dcd cur is bcing replaced by on empty one. I

In the mining of cool, it is customary to undcrznine the face of a vein approximately to 21 depth-could to the thickness of the vcin. after which the coal is blasted by on ox plos-zire charge. it is very desirable that the amount of explosive used be the rcry lnust necessary to loosen the coal sulliciently to allow its removal. lVhcn the work of loading the coal is done by hand on cool is merely shuttered and the minor resorts to wedgesnnd' crow bars to win the coal from r the semi-solid stutc in which it is left as the 7 result of a blast, rather than to resort to heavy blasting which is attendant with great hazards and is often: the cuuso or" mom or less specifics non of matters Fistenit.

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disastrous ruins firos onplosionsin methods. thus far tried out,.for preparing the coal for loading rnociiines it Isa customury to shoot tho coal entiroly loose from'its nntursl bod down onto the floor iIthcjininc. and, besides requiring; s growl; cuinni'iiity of oniplosiros and involving risk life. this nisthod dsoronsss 1;: ruins of 'Zh-r cost due to the pnlvorizing si os-ts of the once sire nso oil explosives. in some cases mechsnicul picks now been used. so brook tho cool down, but: til-s are undesirahln also in view of thnir b'nllrv nature and the foot that they too, proiinoo a large amount of line coal and (lust. W

It is n still inrthc! olo isnl; of this invention to provide a moans whsroby lho coal army as won in lumps of tho most 1 .iiilc size,

nos c-ithsr from the semisolid stints in whioirii is left as the rcsuli; of n conscrrzziivs ass of csplosiros, or. in some oools. without the use of explosives st nil.

it is a, still further object of this invention to prorido a gathering: mechanism which not only serves to more the coal from the mine floor onto a conveyor. but also is adapied to break loose and tear awn with n pulling and wcdgolilro action cool that clings to the roof and sides of thc working plncc.

A still fur thcr object is to provide u gull sring devico which is so mounted on to be capable of rcnilily yielding in all dircctions and thcrohy avoiding straining;- or iii-coking of the some as would other'ise occur h gurhcringz irregular siA-ss of lumps of cool.

.i still further object is to prorido nicnns whereby the cur to be loaded may lac morod rolstirc to tho discharge cnd of lhe conveyor so that such can inn he uniformly loudod.

A still furlhcr obicct is to provide a; {.Zfitlb oring and broad-ting down device whereby cool may he dislodg'cd frornnny purrol tho working taco.

A still further obi-act is to provide rotary gatheringnnd iii-coking down devico all? wi'tliu safety driving means whereby (innings to said gnthoringz dcrzcs or driving means is prcrcntcd should the former become ovor tion around a and lever 15.

form, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter more fully described, shown in the drawings and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings form ng part of this application and in which hke reference characters indicate similar parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the complete machine with a portion of one side of the storage bowl torn awav.

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view of the forward end of the storage bowl and conveyor and of the spiral breaking down and gathering device with its driving and controlling mechanism.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on line III-I1I of Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the machine with part of the conveyor broken away to show the truck arrangement, the spiral gathering member being removed.

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line V--V of Fig. 1, and

Figure 6 is an enlar ed sectional view of the sprocket wheel .an' safety slip clutch.

Referring more in detail to the several views, the tapering spiral anger or gathering and breaking down member 1 is provided with a gimletpoint 2 adapted to be thrust into a crevice in the coal face. previously produced by blasting, and be screwed into the coal, thereby to'tear apart and loosen the same in condition to be conveyed back by the larger portion of the sp ral member to the storage bowl 3. The shank 4 of the member 1' is journaled in an arm 5 of a bracket 6 and has a pinion 7 secured on the end thereof which meshes with a gear .8. Gear 8 meshes with and ma be driven by either of the pinions 9 or 10, epending upon which direction of rotation is desired.

The pinions 9 and 10 are journaled on the shaft 11 and are adapted to be connected to said shaft, respectively, by. clutchesl2 and 13 which are actuated by the shifting rod 14 By throwing lever 15 outwardly clutch 12 '.will connect pinion 9 to shaft 11 to rotate the member 1 for gathering and by throwing lever 15 inwardly the clutch 1.3 will connect pinion 1,0 with shaft t1,1 to cause reverse rotation of said memerl.

Bracketfi is hinged for horizontal rota-- I pin 16, which is secured to the gear'casing 1 and the spindlelS of the gear 8 which extends through the aperture 19 of said gear casing.

Gear casing 17 is journaled for. vertical rotation aroundshaft 11 as at 20 and provided at itsopposi'te side with a sleeve-like extension 21 which is also free to rotate about shaft 11 and to-which. is pivoted the lever 15 as at 22. The upper arm of the bracket 6 is provided with a lateral extension 22-1 formed with a worm sector 24 which.

which passes a chain 59 which also meshes with a worm 25 slidably keyed on a shaft 26 which is journaled in brackets 27 extending u 'iivardlv from the gear casing 17. A crank 28 is provided to turn shaft 26 and, through the gearing desoril'ied, to swin the arm and memberl in a. horizontal plane. The worm. 25 is yieldinglyn naintained midway between the ends of shaft :26 by means of springs 29 and 30 and by this construction the member 1 may yield to one side or the other without straining the gearing or other parts. I

The extension 21 is provided with a worm sector 31 which meshes with a worm 32 and this gear is yieldably and slidably mounted on shaft 33 between springs 34 and 35 in :1

similar manner and for the same purpose as worm 25. A crank 36 is provided to turn shaft 33 and, through the gearing described, to rotate the casing 11' and thereby swing arm 5 and member 1 in a vertical plane. The shaft 33 is journaled in suitable brackets 37 which extend upwardly fronrone of the brackets 38 in which is journaledthe shaft 11 and which are secured to the upper edges of the comparatively high sides B!) of the conveyor 40 which form the. storage bowl 3.

The conveyor 40 may be of anyiwell-known type, but is herein shown as of tlie chain and scraper variety involving broadly two endless spaced chains 41 which are connected together by transverse scraper bars 42 and which travel in guideways 43 formed by the flanges 44, the partition elliilien eath which travels the return flight of the coiiveyor, and the bottom 46. J

Near the rear portion of the conveyor 40 and to the under side thereof is secured a suitable motor 47 to whose shaft is secured a sprocket w'peel 48." Forwardly of the motor 47 and arranged transversely under the conveyor is a shaft 49 having a large sprocket wheel 50 secured thereon adj i but one end and an endless sprocket chain-5 passe's around the wheels 48 and 50 tocoin'municaterotation to shaft 49 from the motor 47, Journaled upon shaft 49 is a sleeve 52 which carries two sprocket wheels 53 and z'ri which engage" the conveyor chains 41. The shaft 49 is journaled in brackets 55 and has a. clutch 56 slidablykeyed thereon which is I adapted to be actuated by the lever 57. It is obvious that, when motor 47 is started and clutch 56 is engaged with sleeve 52. the sprockets 53 will drive the conveyor through the gearing describedj Secured upon the end of shaft 49 adjacent the wheel 50 is a relatively smaller sprocket wheel 58 around asses around a larger sprocket wheel 60 carried by the idler shaft 61 which is supported by the bracket 62 secured to one side 39 of the con-' veyor. Carried by the shaftgfil is a second and smaller sprocket wheel 63around which around the sprocket Wheel carried by the shaft 11.

The driving connection between the sprocket 65 and shaft 11 involves a safety slip clutch which consists of an outer casing (56 which is a lateral tubular extension of the sprocket and this casing carries a plurality of disks 67. These disks are keyed to the casing 66 so asto be compelled. to rotate therewith, but are lrce to slide sidewise relative thereto. A hub 68 keyed to the shaft 11 is provided with a plurality of disks 69 which are keyed to said hub so as to be compelled to rotate therewith, but are also. free to slide sidewise, and said hub is provided with an integral end flange 70. On the other end of the hub is a removable flange 71 which may he removed to allow the disks to be filled into the casing 66 and utter assembly of the parts. the said disks may be packed closely by adjustii'ru; the screws 72. These screws :1 adjusted to a point such that sufficient friction exists between the disks 67 and 69 to cause motion to" be imparted from the wheel 65 to shaft- 11 under normal'load, but when the meinher 1 is overloaded or binds it will cease to rotate by reason of the slipping of the disks relative to each other.

The conveyor 40 and associated parts are supported upon a truck 73 which is. provided with axles 74 and 75 having traction wheels 76 secured thereon, and secured under the platform of the truck 73 is a suit-- able motor 77. Secured on the shaft of the motor 77 is a sprocket wheel 7 8 around which passes an endless sprocket chain 79 which also passes around a larger sprocket Wheel 80 secured on the axle 75, and it is obvious that this gearing enables the truck to be propelled by the motor 77.

At the rear corners of the truck bed- 73 are provided studs or pins 81 and 82 to which are hinged bars 83 and Sl-l-llfi forward ends of which are hinged to and connected together by member 85 as at 86 and 87. .Member 85 is provided with hinge brackets 88 and 89 for connection to similar brackets on the bottom of the conveyor, one of which is shown at 99 in Fig. l, and the conveyor is practically balanced at this point upon the truck. l have found that. by connecting arms 83 and Fi l to member 85 at a point in line with a line radiating from the point of discharge of the conveyor and pass ing. through the pins 81 and 82, the member 85 may be moved back and forth across the truck as desired and yet at all times it takes a position at right angles to a line radiating" from the point of conveyor dis charge or a point over the car into which the coal is being loaded.

In order to laterally swing; the conveyor, I provide two cables 91 and 92wl1ich are respectively securedto arms 83 and 84 adjacent the connections 86 and 87 and which ingreversed, and it is obvious that, by wind inc,- one of the cables upon the drum 95 and at the same time paying out the other cable. the conveyor will be swung across the face of the working place. i

In order to swing the conveyor on the pivotal connection 88. 89 and 90 to raise the forward end thereof. I provide a drum which is journaled in bracket arms 101 carried by and extending rearwardly from the member conveyor and is wound upon the drum 100 bv turning a crank 103.,a suitable pawl 104 and ratchet wheel 105 being provided to pres vent backward rotation of drum 100 except when said pawl is intentionallv released to allow the forward end of the conveyor to lower by gravity,

A longitudinally movable rack push rod 106 suitably guided in the truck bed 73 has,

the pinion 107'in mesh therewith and said pinion is carried by the shaft of a reversible motor 108. The end of the bar 106 is provided with a coupling 109 adapted to be connected to the car 110 and by applying power to motor 108 motion is imparted to the rod 106 to feed the car 110 backwardly from the machine as the process of loading proceeds.

A cable 192 is attached to the To use a machine of this type, the face of the vein is first undercut in the usual manner after which just enough explosive is used to spring the coal sufficiently to open up crevices therein, thus avoiding the danger of blown out shots which are the most general source of mine explosions.

After the coal has been blasted,.the ma.- chine is then propelled into the mine room by use of motor 77, and, upon reaching the face of the vein. motor 99 is actuated to swing; the conveyor and associated parts to the point most suitable for attack. The for ward end of the conveyor is then allowed to lower by releasin the pawl 104 and the member 1 is adjusts by means of cranks 28 and 36 to where its gimlet point will enter a crevice in the coal face when the machine is moved forwardly on the tracks 111 by applying power to motor 77. An empty car is then coupled to the end of push rod 106, power applied to'motor 47, clutch lever 15 thrown outwardly causing member 1 to ro, tote to the right, andthe machine moved forwardly by means of propelling motor 7 7, thus feeding the gimlet point of member 1 into the crevice, breaking away the coal and carrying it backwardly into the storage bowl 3 and onto theconveyor. After the car is pulled in under the dischargeend of the conveyor by means of motor 108, clutch lever 57 is pulled outwardly, thus starting the load ing conveyor. The mine car is, slowly fed backwardly as the loading proceeds until it is full, when lever 57 is pushed inwardly to stop the loading conveyor until the loaded car has been replaced by an empty one, during which time the process of gathering and breaking down may continue.

After a path has been cleared to the back of the undercut, the machine is backed away from the face and moved to another position where the operation is repeated until the coal has been torn away and loaded across the entire width of the working place.

Should the member 1 become overloaded or bind. the safety slip clutch (Fig. 6) provides protection against straining or breaking of the mechanism, and while the member 1 is thus bound or overloaded. the machine may he propelled away from the face tearing the coal away with it, similar to the way a cork is removed by the use of a corkscrew, or lever 15 may be thrown inwardly to reverse the member 1 for removal thereof.

While the form of the invention, herein described, is what is believed to be the preferred embodiment thereof, it is nevertheless to be understood that minor changes may be made in the form and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim as new is 1. In a coal loading machine, the combination with a conveyor, of a spiral auger gathering member yieldingly mounted on the conveyor longitudinally thereof for movement relative thereto independently thereof and projecting beyond the forward end thereof.

2. In a coal loading machine the combination of a conveyor, a pointed spiral auger gathering member positioned longitudinally.

of and projecting beyond the free end of the conveyor, means for rotating Said gathering member, and safety means interposed betwcen the gathering member and rotating means to automatically allow the gathering member to discontinue rotation when the same becomes overloaded or when the rotation thereof is resisted beyond a predetermined extent.

3. In a coal loading machine, the combination of a conveyor, a pointed tapering spiral auger gathering member positioned longitudinally of and projecting beyond the forward end of the conveyor, means for rotating the gathering member, and means for spiral auger gathering member yieldingly' mounted upon the forward end of the conveyortn move relative thereto and arrr ged longitudinally of the same, means for rotat ing the gathering member and means for reversing the direction of rotation of the gathering member.

5. In a coal loading machine, the combination of a conveyor, a spiral auger gathering member yieldingly mounted upon the forward end of the conveyor and capable of universal movement relative thereto, means for rotating the gathering member, and means for bodily moving said gathering member relative to the conveyor.

6. In a coal loading machine, the combination of a conveyor, a spiral auger gathers ingmember yieldingly mounted upon the forward end of said conveyor and capable of universal movement relative thereto, means for rotating said gathering member-,1 means interposed between the gatherinq l member and rotating means to allow saidl gathering member to cease rotating when overloaded, and means to bodily move said athering member relative to the conveyor. 7. In a coal loading machine, the comblnation of a conveyor, a spiral auger gathering member yieldingly mounted u on the for ward end of the conveyor an capable of universal movement relative thereto, means for rotating said gathering member, means interposed between the gathering member and the rotating means to allow the gathermg member to cease rotating when overloaded, means for reversing the direction of rotation of said gathering member and means to bodily move said gathering member relative to the conveyor.

8. A coal loading machine including a wheeled support, a pair of .diverging arms pivotally secured to said support and having their widely separated ends connected by a transverse member, a conveyor supported upon the transverse member, a coal breaking down and gathering means associated with said conveyor, and means for moving said diverging arms laterally relative to the support.

9. A coal loading machine'- including a wheeled support, a pair of diverging arms pivotally secured to said support, a transverse member connecting the widely separated ends of said arms, a conveyor pivoted for vertical movement upon said connecting member, means for moving said arms laterally relative to the support, a coal breaking down and gathering means associated with said conveyor and means to raise the forward end of said conveyor.

10. A coal loading machine including a wheeled support, power traction means for moving said support forwardly and rearwardly, a conveyor carried by said support, a pointed tapering unshielded spiral auger gathering member mounted upon said conveyor and arranged longitudinally thereof to screw a material distance in a coal vein,

said gatherin' member projecting beyond the forward end of the conveyor, and means to rotate said gathering member.

11. A gatherin "mechanism, for coal load- 12. A coal loading machine including a er,

coal breaking down and gathering mem an inclined conveyor associated with said gathering member and having a storage means for reception of material gathered by the gathering member, means to operate said gathering member, means to operate said conveyor, and means to render the conveyor inoperative without rendering the gathering member inoperative, said storage means being constructed to continuously receive coal from the breakin down and gathering member and to, ho d Ithe same when the conveyor is rendered inoperative during the average interval required to replace a filled pit car by an empty one in a mine.

13. A coal loading mach'ine including a support, a pair of connected arms pivoted to said support for horizontal movement, a sin le conveyor connected to said arms for horizontal movement therewith and relative to said support whereby the discharge end of said conveyor will remain substantially at the same point at all times, a coal breaking down and gathering means associated with said conveyor and means for moving said conveyor relative to the support.

14. In a loading machine, a support, a conveyor carried by said support, a pointed unshielded tapering spiral auger gathering member mounted on said conveyor and arranged longitudinally thereof to'screw a material distance into a'coal vein, and power operated means t bodily longitudinally move the gatherin member away from the vein when screwe into the same.

15. In a coal loading machine, the combination of a conveyor, a pointed s iral auger gatherin member mounted on t e forward end of t e conveyor to be capable of substantially, universal movement relative thereto, means to rotate the gathering member, and means to bodil move said gathering member relative to t e conveyor.

16. A coal loading machine includin a coal'breaking down and gathering mem er, an inclined conveyor having a storage means for reception of material gathered by the gathering member, interconnected power operated actuating mechanism for said gathering member and said conveyor, and means to render the conveyor inoperative without rendering the gathering member inoperative.

17. A gathering mechanism, for coal loading machines including a conveyor, consisting in a poihted spiral auger, means to mount the auger on and longitudinally of the conveyor for universal movement relativethereto, and yieldable manually operable means for moving said auger,

18. A gathering mechanism, for coal loading machines including a conveyor, consisting in a pointed spiral auger, means to mountthe anger on and longitudinally of the conveyor for universal movement relative thereto, and manually operable means associated with the mounting means for a moving said auger.

19. coal loading machine including a wheeled support having an inclined conveyor mounted thereon, said conveyor being provided at its lower forward end with astorage receptacle, a coal breaking down and gatherin member mounted upon, the forward en of the conveyor and arranged to move'material into said storage receptacle, said conveyor including a conveyor member to transferthe material rearwardly from the storage receptacle to a oint above a pit car, means to operate sai conveyor member, means to operate said thering mem ber, and'means to render tie conveyor inoperative without rendering the gathering member inoperative.v

20. A portable coal loading machine comprising in combination a storage receptacle; gathering means to break coal down onto a mine floor and deliver the same into said storage receptacle; means to transfer coal from said storage receptacle into a it car; a wheeled support upon which sai receptacle, gathering and delivering n ans and transfer means are mounted; and means to render the transfer means inoperative without rendering said gathering and deliverin means inoperative; said storage receptace being constructed to continuous! receive coal from the gathering and elivering means and hold the same when the transfer means is rendered inoperative during the average interval required to replace a filled pit car by an empty one in a mine.

In testimony whereof I afiix m signature.

. JOSEP F. JOY. 

